VOL. XLI

No. 25

22-June-1998

GENERAL

MITI Minister Plans Closure Of 10 Japanese Exploration Companies

Japan's Minister of International Trade and Industry Mitsuo Horiuchi plans to eitherdisband or merge 10 Japanese oil exploration companies with large bad loans, according tothe Tokyo business daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun. Mr. Horiuchi told the paper on 16June that the decision stems from the fact that the state-run Japan National OilCorporation (JNOC), which has extended credit to 112 exploration...